Take Care of You
by NCISgirl1527
Summary: Just because you can take care of yourself does not mean you always have to. My take on what happened after Eric took Calleigh home at the end of All-In. Hiphuggers. Enjoy.


**_I watched All-In this morning (Go DVR) and like a fair few other people on this site, decided the end was a good set up for a Calleigh/Eric story. So here is my take on what happened after Eric took her home._**

_**Disclaimer: Not mine.  
Spoilers: All-In**_

"Thanks for the lift," Calleigh told Eric graciously as they pulled into her driveway.

"No problem," Eric replied with a smile, "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course not," Calleigh said with a smile, which was as fake as her statement was. All she really wanted right now was time alone so she could sort out what had happened, but she could not find it in herself to turn Eric away.

The two of them walked up her front steps, and she unlocked the door. Eric followed her into the house and watched as she put down her things. "Want something to eat?" she called over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.

"Sure," he replied following her over to the fridge, "but let me make it."

"That's okay I've got it," Calleigh declined, "It is my house."

"Come on Calleigh," Eric insisted, "You were kidnapped today."

Calleigh turned slowly to look at him. "Don't you think I know that?" she asked. Her calculated words and calm voice gave not hits to the mix of emotions she was feeling inside.

"I know you know," Eric replied trying to repair his blunder. "I just—"

"I'm not an invalid," she told him, her control starting to slip, "I can take care of myself."

"Calleigh, I just—" he started again.

"You just what?" Calleigh demanded losing all control completely for a minute, "You felt sorry for me? You pity me? You don't think I can take care of myself because I got kidnapped? You think I'm a victim?"

Eric did not know how to respond to that. He just watched Calleigh for a moment before she spoke again.

"I think you should go now," she told him her voice shaking just slightly. She could feel the tears building and did not want him to be there when she fell apart.

Eric paused. He had a choice to make. Either he could do what she told him to do and leave her alone or he could ignore her and stay. He did not like either option in its entirety. The first option required him leaving her by herself to sort through everything. The second option required going against what she had asked him to do. The decision was easy.

"I'm not going to leave you," he told her gently.

"Eric please," she begged him, "I don't want you to see me like this." Her hair was falling over her face, so that he could not quite see her expression, but the tremble in her voice almost broke his heart.

"Calleigh," he reminded her taking a step closer, "You don't have to be strong all the time. It's okay to fall apart."

Finally she looked back up at him. "I don't want to be a victim," she admitted and despite her best efforts, tears began to run down her checks.

Eric watched as Calleigh lost the last of her ability to control her emotions. Tears started spilling down her checks, and she slid to the floor with her head in her hands. Eric was by her side in seconds. Without a moment's hesitation, he dropped to the floor beside her and began to trace soft circles on her back.

Calleigh let her head fall sideway and rest on Eric's shoulder. She made no effort to control her tears and simply let them fall. It did not matter what Eric thought of her right now. The only thing she concentrated on was his touch. It was soft and brought her a comfort she had not felt for a long time. The comfort of knowing there was someone else who was willing to be strong for you when you could not be.

After a while the tears subsided, and she lifted her head. Eric was watching her, but his hand did not move from her back as though he was hesitant to break contact. Calleigh was the first to speak. "Thank you," she told Eric, her voice a little steadier than before.

"Anytime," he replied, then after a pause he added, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You want to go into the living room?" Calleigh asked, parrying his question with a question instead of giving him an answer. Anyone else would think that she was avoiding the question, but Eric knew she was not. She was merely giving herself time to think.

"Sure," Eric agreed standing up. He stood up, and then extended a hand to help Calleigh up, but she stood up on her own. Together they walked into the living room, and sat down on the sofa, Calleigh wincing just slightly as she did so. "Are you hurt?" Eric asked concerned.

"I'm fine," she told him shifting away just a little.

"Calleigh," Eric told her firmly, "If you don't want to talk about what happened that is you decision, but if they hurt you I need to know."

"It's nothing serious," she assured him, "just a few bruises." She slid the sleeves of her sweater up to reveal her arms. There were one or two bruises on her forearms and a handprint nearly at the shoulder of each arm.

"I'm going to kill them," Eric muttered at the sight of Calleigh's arms. Any man who had the nerve to do this any woman deserved punishment, but this was not just any woman. This was Calleigh, his Calleigh, his partner.

"Don't," Calleigh told him with a shake of her head, "they aren't worth it." Eric did not respond to that, but Calleigh knew that he was not convinced.

There was a silence that hung in the air for several minutes. Eric wanted to know what had happed, but he did not want to push Calleigh to far. She knew this and finally decided that he deserved to know.

"I assume you know about the chloroform," she started and his nod confirmed her suspicion. "When I woke up I was bound and gagged. Both the men you arrested were sitting there watching me, and there was a dead body. They wanted me to cover it up so they couldn't be tracked back to the murder. I told them I needed supplies, and Tommy left to get them. Seth stayed behind to watch me." At this point in the story Calleigh dropped her head slightly and looked at her hands.

"Did he…" Eric asked not bothering to finish the question because he knew Calleigh did not need him to.

"No," she replied shaking her head, "He wanted to, but I told him I would rather die. He didn't like that."

Eric shook his head. The more he heard the angrier he got at this man, but he controlled his anger for Calleigh's sake. "Is that when you got the bruise on you stomach?" Eric asked her.

"How?" Calleigh asked him shocked.

"You're my partner and my friend," he told her, "I know you."

Calleigh nodded. "Yes," she replied to his previous question, "He kicked me."

Over the next quarter of an hour continued to tell her story with Eric occasionally asking questions. Finally she reached the part where they infiltrated the poker game and found Tripp, Ryan, and Eric.

"And you know the rest from there," she concluded looking up at Eric. There was a pause, and she dropped her gaze back to her lap. "I was terrified," she admitted quietly, "I still am."

Eric took both of Calleigh's hands in his. He knew how much it took for her to confess that she was scared. "You're safe now," he assured her, "No one can hurt you anymore."

It was a white lie, and they both knew it. In their line of work, one came to understand that nowhere was completely safe. Nowhere on earth was there a location that prevented someone from coming after you. There were places that lowered the chances, but nowhere was a completely safe. That did not matter though because Eric was not promising that no one would come after her; he was promising that if they did come he would protect her.

"Thank you," she told him quietly, "thank you so much."

"Anything," he assured her, "Anytime. All you have to do is ask."

"I can take care of myself," she reminded him using the same words from earlier with a much softer tone.

"I know that," he agreed, "but that doesn't mean you always have to."

_**Did you like it? Please tell me what you though so I can make the next one better. Thanks!**_


End file.
